Monsoon Golden Blonde? It's so strange!

I used to dye my hair with henna all the time. My hair is naturally dark brown/black, with red highlights, but I started getting a lot of gray hair about 10 years ago. I dyed my hair with henna from Mehandi for several years, but I stopped using it in 2012. I got a beautiful black-red color, and the last dye I recall stashing in bulk in my freezer was Punjabi Prime.

I stopped using henna because I lost all the curl in my hair, and a couple of people convinced me it was the henna. I could literally see where the hennaed hair ended and the non-hennaed hair began, so I cut off around 6" of hennaed hair. I always mixed my henna with pure lemon juice, so it's possible all the repeated applications were too much for my hair.

Sure enough, my curls came back - but my hair broke like crazy, felt drier than ever, and had no sheen. I used hair dye from Sally Beauty to cover my grays (Wella Black Cherry). Hair dye used to be my "guilty pleasure" when it came to environmental concerns, but, I really missed the purity, history, symbolism, and color of henna.

A couple of months ago, I had highlights with bleach, that turned my hair into something like a blend of polyester and nylon. The color was awful, and my hair looked and felt terrible. After 4 years, I decided to go back to henna coloring. I figured even if my curl pattern was destroyed, at least I wouldn't be leaving flakes and strands of cracked hair everywhere. My hair had truly stopped growing, and I know that when I used henna my hair was longer than it had ever been in my life.

Since then I've used Rajasthani Twilight with Malluma Kristalovino 3x (once over whole head, 2x over bleached areas) and 2 root application of Rajasthani Twilight with Malluma Kristalovino, and 1 with Twilight with Copperberry. The color is beautiful, however, it's more of a copper-rust- red than I was hoping for, and the grays in my roots are very copper. Overall, it seems that with the Twilight, I get cinnamon red. It's lovely but I didn't want to give up trying for that dark crimson red I used to get.

Today I applied Rajasthani Monsoon with Copperberry over all my roots, and the "canopy" of my hair. I LOVE THE COLOR! This seems to have added that true red that I enjoyed with previous henna experiences. I could tell as soon as the dye released that the color would be closer to what I'd hoped for.

However - a lot of my gray/white roots are GOLDEN BLONDE! They aren't even strawberry blonde (yet - they may darken I suppose). They look like what I would imagine cassia dye does to hair... Having naturally very dark hair (others always identify it as "black"), the blonde hair looks anything but natural, and I don't like the color.

2 questions:

Should I use pure lemon juice with henna for root touch-ups instead of Copperberry or Potassium Bitratrate?

If I can't find a blend of henna and fruit acid that covers the gray, is my only other option to add Indigo? I was excited about being able to have "red" hair easily with henna over grays, but it looks like my hair isn't going to cooperate.

Because Monsoon is a lower dye content, it doesn't always provide full coverage on grays. The blonde tone is most likely from the grays being just tinted by the henna rather than covered. I would recommend trying the Malluma with Monsoon, as it deepens the shade a bit. Repeated applications may help also, as well as making sure the hair is very very well shampooed right before application.

Also, how long did you dye release the henna, and how long did you leave it in your hair? you may need to adjust the times on either of those for the best results.

A slower dye release at a more moderate temperature can sometimes be more effective. Fast, hot dye release will lend to weak, brighter tones rather than a deep, strong dye. The Jasmine does have a higher dye content, and some rose tones, but is more coppery overall in comparison to the Monsoon. With the Malluma, it will be a deeper copper shade.

Thank you - that is exactly what I needed to know. I did my roots and recolored the "rusty" parts with Monsoon and Copperberry, (left overnight for dye release). I am VERY pleased with the results. On the first day the white hair was copper-golden, but in 3-4 days the gold turned to copper-red, and my natural, very dark hair, has red highlights in the sun. Overall, the tone is much more "red" than "cinnamon", which is what I prefer. I have 300g of Twilight, so I don't think I'll bother buying any Jasmine, but I am definitely purchasing more Monsoon. Thank you for your help!

After trying various combinations of Twilight and Monsoon, powdered acids/water/lemon juice, and dye release/application times, at last it seems I've found the mix that creates the color I've been looking for! I wanted a non-rusty "red" that blends with my dark red hair, but doesn't turn my grays golden-rusty-copper. I want my grays to be "red".

This time, after a Rainwash, I mixed Jasmine henna with Kristalovino and let it sit overnight. Then I left it on my roots for 4 hours. This is the first time I've used both Jasmine and Kristalovino (previously in mixes I've tried lemon juice, water, Malluma Kristalovino, and most often Copperberry).

The gray/white hairs are now dark red, and my roots are completely invisible. I love this color - it's as close to my natural color as I've ever seen. Twilight is cinnamon-toned on my hair, and Monsoon is burnt-orange, but both left my grays golden right after treatment, and the golden turned to copper. Jasmine has turned the grays more wine red, yet devoid of any purple/blue tones.

In addition to creating the color that I love, the Jasmine henna rinses from my hair faster and more thoroughly than Twilight or Monsoon, which is nice, because my hair tangles very badly.

It would be great if the Kristalovino is somewhat responsible for this color, because I own 400g of Twilight that I don't want to waste. I'll do some experimenting. If not, I'll use it for my body art.